The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-07-18
Regulating the Liquor Traffic.

| To the Editor of the indianapolis Journal:
Why have q State and city law and not en-
force them is question of serious consider atsv1i
for the law abiding citizen who is loyal aud true
to every trust There are about twenty saloons
in this city doing thriving business and paying
license fee according to law for the privilege
Of selling the various liquid intoxicants. Iu
their application to the Board of County Com
missioners for said license. they claim to be
moral, awabiding citizens and in every way
fit persons to be intrusted with such license, and
in some unexplainable manner they prove the
essential points, and for the paltry sum of 300
are granted the protection Of the Ia in dealing
ont death and damnatiou to class OF per-
sons who are in the clutches of the de-
mon mo noGno ana seping and in
large majority OF our bright and intelligent
young mon, who commence tipping not to be-
come drunkards. but like the little boy with his
first cigar or chew of tobacco, just for curiosity
and because some one else does it and not for the
love he has for il. Now let see how near those
law they areIobligated to keep One of the things
for board of county commissioners to know
before granting q license is that the applicant Is
a moral man. Without attempting to define the
the word moral. we will leave it to the reader
whether not there could be such thing as a
moral man engaged in the liquor traffic What
sgnifcance do county commissioners apply to
the word morale II your neighbor should poison
your cow or horse would you look upon him
as being q moral man. and would you
place your signature to permit in allowing
him to continue poisoning your stock? You
doing ten fold worse. You saying by your
acts of official authority that it is right and law
full to allow men to poison your own sous, and
they are doing it seven days and seven nights in
every week in the year. Are they moral men2
Do moral men practice that which they know
will ruin and degrade their fellow man7 Do
moral men lift TO higher plane or lower to
deeper depths of degradation those with whom
they associate and transact business2 What
does 1T require to constitute moral mani Let
county commissioners and court judges answer
this question honestly and to the perfect salts
faction of their own conscences. The law af-
firms that saloons must be closed at IL o'clock
every night Do the proprietors Of saloons COM
ply with this important clause OF the conditions
on which they expected to carry on
business as moral mont IL so, why are
bartenders employed for all night service, and
why do gas men collect money for gas consumed
in these law protected dens of iniqnity for every
hour OF every night in the week2 Why do
sers by at the hour OF midnight, and later, hear
the clicking of glasses and the unsteady voices
of drinkers within these places kept by men.
whom board of County Commissioners say by
their acts are moral, law abiding citizens? IL
our moral saloon keepers close their houses and
cease selling at the hour prescribed by law. why
is it that 90 many wives toss about restlessly on
their lonely touches till two. three and four
o'clock in the morning awaiting the return Of
faithless drunken husbandl Another provision
Of the law is, that saloons must be
ana on election days. DO they carry out this
part of the requirement. Let us see. At the
last general election in this city young man
was at work near the window of a room adjacent
the back door of q saloon and from which
point he could see any ono going in coming
out at that door Of the saloon, and by actual
count sixty-three men went into that saloon
through the BRICK door in exactly sixty minutes.
Two weeks ago in making early Sunday
morning circuit Of the business portion Of the
city passed. all the principal saloons, and
without . single exception the doors. both front
and back, were open and the baPtenders attred
in white aprons were at their accustomed
places.
0We saw men and boys 20 in and como ont,
and for what purpose we could only surmise,
snce in white apron and the open doors that the
law declares shall be closed. We were a
little surprised ut the same time see beer
wagon stop in front of of the open doors
and amid throng of people passing either way
on the street, unload keg after keg of besr
which was carried into tho saloon. We noticed
wondered what construction to put upon the
ity sworn to protect the law and daily violating
facts and may be in every town
law is to be thus trampled upon and utterly disre
garded, why would il cot be the correct thing to
repeal the law, and place restriction whatever
on tho sale of liquorsf Let il DO sold in every
grocery and dry-goods store in the Statss and
allow the apple and orange peddler To deal IL out
80 her customers BY tho drink. that she may